Are You a Beggar or a Rockstar?
Scott James
http://www.WebsitesForRockstars.comFollow @ihelpmusicians
What I’m going to write about is what I consider to be the biggest fundamental difference between artists who thrive and artists who struggle to survive. It’s a mindset, a paradigm, a way to view the world.
Most bands out there are looking for support. They want you to help them out. Vote for them in a contest. Go to their show. Buy their CD.
By you contributing to their cause you will get them far enough to get their big break. When they get their big break then they will have made it and other people will be there to give them all the resources they need and they’ll live happily ever after.
There’s just one small problem with that model: It’s an illusion that will keep you trapped until long after all of your dreams are gone. It’s a fundamental misinterpretation of the way that money and value work. This strategy will no sooner make you successful then it will a beggar.
Money is just a lubrication in the exchange of value. Think about that for a minute. It doesn’t have any intrinsic value. It’s just a symbol. It’s a more advanced way of trading sheep. What the symbol stands for is value. It’s not about “getting” money. It’s about value. If you want to receive value, then you’re going to have to produce value for other people. You can’t game the system. It will all add up in the end one way or another. If you don’t produce value then you won’t even have the capacity to hold on to value. Whatever you get, you will lose.
You need to focus on the value that you can give to people. Do you want to get people at your shows? Do you really want to make some real money? Then convince people that you’re going to give them something that they value. Anything less will get you nowhere. You can get people to come to a gig or two out of obligation, but if they aren’t getting more in return than they are spending then they’re going to stop showing up. It’s just not sustainable.
Does your show cost $10 at the door, plus $5 to park and an hour or two of time on a Friday night? Well then it needs to be a show that’s worth $20+ and be the best thing that someone could do on a Friday night. YOU are the first person who needs to believe this. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.
When you’re well calibrated to what your fans value and you’re 100% convinced that going to your show on Friday night is the best thing that anyone could do, and that it’s worth 5x the cost of admission, then something amazing will start to happen. People will start to sense it. This will come through in your communications. People will see it in your eyes and read it in your body language. The pictures you take will start to speak to people differently. It’s like sprinkling magic dust on everything you do.
People are repelled by those who want to get something from them, but attracted to people who they believe will give something to them- and when you give them something that’s worth far more than the cost, then they will talk about it.
No one will ever come in and save the day by giving you your big break if you don’t first produce more value than what you ask in return. This is the great illusion that runs rampant amongst the minds of starving musicians. If you’re waiting for someone to show up and give you your success then you’re still going to be waiting when you’re old and grey.
So this is my challenge to you:
Eliminate the idea of charity or support as part of your strategy. Make “support” a dirty word. Don’t ask people to support your band. Don’t ask for favors. Instead, convince them that your band is the best thing that will ever happen to them. They’re going to tell their grand kids about you. Your band will be the soundtrack to the best memories that they’ll every have. $10 for your CD is the best bargain that they’ll ever find.
If you’re going to convince them of this then you’re going to have to convince yourself first.
This comes BEFORE you get your big break.
Don’t be a beggar.
BE A ROCKSTAR.
Nice, you should maybe consider writing the ” Think and grow rich of musicianship”
Cheers
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you are tha bomB dude. like your advice will use it. by tha way, i have a web site thats not that good, would like to talk to you about maybe designing mine for me. thanks for what you do!
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Thanks James! What’s up with the website?
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I like the idea that your show or CD should always have a value of $5 over whatever it costs. I see so many bands with no stage presence & it\’s the biggest pet peeve I have. Being a great musician & even having great songs doesn\’t make a valuable live show or even a CD for that matter. There\’s a craft beyond musicianship for being a live performer, you have to be an entertainer as well.
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Thanks for the encouraging words. This is how I’ve felt forever. When I’m busking, it’s hard to stay focused on musicianship when the guy with a card board sign next to you is begging . What do the customers see when they pass by a beggar and a musician? Real music people arent hard to tell from beggars; the musician is giving something out without expecting aanything in return, beggars lay on you their negative problems in return for nothing .
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This is a profoundly moving article. I think the good lord will part the heavens for a man who makes the absolute-most of each and every day with the resources he has, and then he’ll get more responsibility to manage, and some responsibilities to let go of. This is a far, far better model than musicians who keep waiitng for the next handout in order to “do things right”. How about, “just do things GREAT with what you have”!
Thanks for writing this. As one who has paid a lot of money for music, I can say from the b-2-b buyer’s perspective, it’s EXACTLY what a higher-up business person wants to see in a musician.
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Hey Scott…I find your philosophy quite intriguing….I understand the point about showing “Value” as a performer but don’t understand how “begging” people for something like support or asking for a helping hand can be a bad thing…Most people are as clueless as the next person about what it means to the performer to be a fan/supporter… I’m guessing there must be a fine balance between asking for for support and receiving support through your music/performance….I support a lot of band simply cause of their music, some support mine..but some don’t cause i feel that they may not want to share with their fans someone who is in direct local “competition” with them….. Am I begging for it or are they just being selfish turds? Cheers!
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Hey Aman,
Thanks for your comment/question! I don’t think that there’s anything inherently wrong with eliciting support. At some point though in the life / career of an artist you have to step up to the plate and deliver the goods. What I see a lot of is bands playing shows where their fans pay say $10 to get in, but the show they deliver isn’t worth half of that. These bands tend to operate out of a model that their fans should go see them to ‘support’ them.
That’s ok to a point, if you’re a young band just starting out and you need to learn your craft. If you intend to play with the big boys then you’ve got to deliver. You have to deliver a show that’s worth twice the cost of admission. If you can’t do that then what you need isn’t more support, but more practice, knowledge and experience. You need to commit to getting there. Otherwise you will most certainly not be successful.
The fans have to receive the value, otherwise they won’t return and you won’t be able to sustain your strategy. So support is fine, but it must be rewarded and YOU, the band/artist, have to take responsibility for delivering the reward.
As for supporting other bands, I think that brings up a good point, which I’ll probably blog about soon. Bands can and should do a lot more to help each other make money and build their fanbases. Hopefully you can find other bands out there who you get along with and enjoy playing with who can help you create a supportive community. Bands can do so much more together than they can individually. I’ll elaborate further in an upcoming blog post.
To address the issue of begging vs. selfish turds, if you keep asking other bands for support then yes, you’re begging. If you find mutually beneficial opportunities and propose them to other artists then you’re not begging. Some bands think that because they go to another band’s show that that other band should return the favor and go to their show in return. This is their idea of how support works. Really they’re just trying to obligate the other band to going to their show, which is likely how they try to get a lot of their friends/fans to go to their shows as well. This isn’t how it works.
What you want is to find other artists who naturally want to play shows with you and will otherwise show up to your shows because they actually want to! These are the kinds of people who you want to start a supporting community with. More on this soon….
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Amen, brother.
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